Key Takeaways | 2025 Enforcement Outlook | The Trump Administration’s Regulatory Landscape

As we enter into the second Trump administration, questions abound regarding the likely federal and state regulatory enforcement activity and priorities, which will significantly impact companies across all industries. To kick off our 2025 Enforcement Outlook series, experienced practitioners in our white-collar, US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) defense, antitrust, and financial institutions practices provided insights and analysis on what to expect from the Trump administration’s regulatory approach and how to prepare for it.

Our cross-practice team addressed the key federal regulators – the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and banking regulators – as well as the expected approaches of state Attorneys General (AG).

Top takeaways included:

1. Trump’s new DOJ team: The DOJ will likely be led by Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi. While Bondi has only state, and not federal, prosecutorial experience, the other key DOJ nominees have substantial experience and are anticipated to have institutional tendencies. A wild card will be Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director nominee Kash Patel, who, if confirmed, may bring about significant change at the FBI.
2.  New DOJ enforcement priorities: The DOJ’s enforcement priorities will likely include a strong focus on immigration enforcement, which could include enforcement at the corporate level, and combating violent crime and transnational criminal enterprises. The DOJ is also expected to emphasize national security, focusing on export controls and tariff enforcement, and scrutinizing technology transfers to foreign countries. Additionally, we anticipate the DOJ will maintain its efforts in white-collar crime, including False Claims Act enforcement, particularly involving healthcare fraud and tariffs, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act actions. In antitrust, the department is expected to be meaningfully less hostile to mergers than under the Biden administration. Regarding cryptocurrency, we expect the DOJ will reduce scrutiny, focusing on clear-cut fraud cases and misrepresentations to consumers. For Big Tech, the DOJ will likely continue its scrutiny, addressing concerns about tech platforms’ dominance and potential censorship. In terms of artificial intelligence (AI), we expect the Trump administration will focus on promoting AI innovation and investment with fewer restraints, while enforcement will concentrate on consumer protection, identity theft, and preventing AI misuse for censorship.
3.  Anticipated SEC updates: While SEC enforcement investigations and actions tend to be relativity bipartisan and constant, Paul Atkins, Trump’s nominee to serve as chair of the agency, is expected to have different enforcement priorities. We anticipate he will shift the focus away from crypto enforcement, adopt a less aggressive approach to corporate penalties, and emphasize individual accountability and actions against conduct that result in demonstrable investor harm.
4. Anticipated FTC updates: Trump nominated Andrew Ferguson to move from a commissioner position to chairman of the commission and has nominated Mark Meador to join the commission. The environment for mergers at the FTC should be more favorable than it has been under Chair Lina Khan. We anticipate that the FTC will pull back on seeking to regulate commerce through broad-based competition rulemaking. Regarding consumer protection, we expect the new chair will substantially pare back the FTC’s digital policy agenda and limit enforcement and rulemaking.
5. CFTC chair candidates: Trump has not yet nominated anyone for CFTC chair, but all the candidates under consideration will likely bring about significant change in the regulatory approach, particularly by supporting the cryptocurrency industry.
6. Enforcement from State AGs: With the potential for less aggressive enforcement activity at the federal level, we expect to see more enforcement from state AG, both in the areas of their traditional focus and in challenging certain federal activities and policies.

McDermott’s Enforcement Outlook webinar series is designed to keep you up to date on the enforcement trends that might impact your organization’s compliance strategy. For more materials related to past episodes, visit our Enforcement Outlook Series hub.